Port Perry Ontario

November 2026 

Some Port Perry Signs

I have heard of Port Perry and sometimes mixed it up with Port Stanley (opposite directions!) but we've never been there. We thought we had a general idea where it was, but set the GPS anyway.

In Wikipedia's dry tone - Port Perry is a charming, historic community located on the southwestern shore of Lake Scugog in Ontario’s Durham Region, Canada. • Situated about 84 kilometres (roughly a 1-hour drive) northeast of downtown Toronto, it serves as the administrative and commercial hub for the Township of Scugog, with a population of around 9,553 residents. Queen Street features well-preserved 19th-century Victorian red-brick architecture, independent boutiques, antique shops, cafes, and local bakeries (such as Hank's Pastries).It is home to Canada’s oldest surviving grain elevator and mill (built in 1873) right by the waterfront, along with Palmer Park which offers lakeside walking paths and green space.

See the poppy and lest we forget!

Flanking the name is an oversized sculpture of a common loon floating peacefully on stylized blue waves. The loon is painted with its iconic, hyper-realistic Canadian markings—a jet-black head, a striking black-and-white ringed collar, and a crisp checkerboard pattern running across its back.

The area originally served as the northern endpoint of the Scugog Carrying Place, a crucial land-and-water trading portage used by the Mississaugas.

The name Scugog is an Indigenous word with two widely accepted etymological origins:

• "Waves leap over a canoe": Derived from the Mississauga word sigaog. It reflects how quickly rough, choppy waves can whip up on a very shallow body of water.

• "Marshy waters" or "swampy land": Derived from the ancestral Ojibwe language, accurately describing the original low-lying wetlands before the region was artificially flooded.

 European settlement began in earnest in the early 1800s. A pivotal moment occurred in 1834 when settler William Purdy built a dam on the Scugog River at Lindsay. He was an early 19th-century American-born settler, miller, and entrepreneur.

Settlers built a downstream mill dam in Lindsay, raising the river basin by several feet. This permanently flooded the local marshes to create the broad, navigable Lake Scugog.

But why did we come to Port Perry? The Port Perry Poppy Project. Remembrance Day is this week and I had read about their poppy display. Notice the poppies on the arch in the above photo.

 A massive, cascading tapestry or "curtain" of poppies hangs from the roofline down the front entrance of the town offices made up of nearly 10,000 completely hand-knit and crocheted red poppies meticulously stitched onto heavy netting. 

It is stunning to see IRL.

 Port Perry also has a Reacher connection that I used to get John to come out here. 

Because of its incredibly well-preserved 19th-century architecture, downtown Port Perry serves as the primary real-world stand-in for the fictional, rural town of Margrave, Georgia during Season 1. Whenever you see Jack Reacher walking down the tree-lined, brick-storefront main street of Margrave, you are actually looking at Queen Street and Perry Street in Port Perry.

Here's a link to a FB video. And if you want more Reacher - Ontario connections click here.

The most famous local link is The Piano Inn & Cafe located at 217 Queen Street. Film crews completely took over the café, temporarily painting and transforming the exterior into a southern bar called "JJ's Ale House". 

This beautiful, award-winning historical space is one of the few remaining flat-iron style buildings in Canada. Built in 1884, it originally housed a piano manufacturer and retail shop. Restored to replicate its late-1800s appearance, it maintains its original wooden floors and high ceilings.

This exact location was used to film the intense, high-action diner fight scene where Reacher aggressively steps in to defend Roscoe's honour against KJ and his goons.

The café's owners frequently share stories about the production, including the memorable day star Alan Ritchson walked through their front doors completely covered in fake movie blood for a take!

Town Establishment (1848): Businessman Peter Perry bought the waterfront lots, built a shipping wharf, and laid down the grid for what would become Port Perry.

These banners are installed every autumn from mid-October through November 12th, filling the streets alongside the other town displays like the cascading poppy waterfall project at the municipal offices. The goal of the program is to "give the face on the banner a life", reminding residents and visitors of the personal, real-world sacrifices made by families right within their own neighborhood.

Each individual banner commemorates a specific veteran from the Scugog area who served in the Canadian military (including the Army, Navy, or Air Force) during major global conflicts.

The large double-sided banners display a historical photograph of the soldier, their name, their military branch, the Poppy symbol, and the name of the local family or business that sponsored them

Back to the town. There are Remembrance Day tributes in most store window.

Co-organized by Sharon Runnalls, owner of the downtown Port Perry floral shop Branching Out Florists, the mannequin-styled "poppy dress" is displayed in the shop's front window alongside a coordinating poppy shawl.

The Railway & Grain Boom (1870s): The arrival of the railway turned the town into Ontario's primary inland shipping hub. Millions of bushels of grain passed through, prompting the construction of the 1873 Grain Elevator (now Canada's oldest surviving elevator).  Built around 1873–1874 by George Currie, this historic wooden three-storey structure stands at the foot of Queen Street right along the Lake Scugog waterfront. It serves as a visual anchor for the town's agricultural heritage and has recently undergone extensive structural restoration efforts to preserve its distinct red cladding and vintage frame.

Port Perry features one of the finest and most intact Victorian main streets in Ontario. After a devastating fire swept through the business district in 1884, the town rebuilt almost entirely in brick, leaving behind a beautifully preserved architectural legacy.

It is full of historic information. Click on any photo to read.

I have an  "odd" affinity when I come across Odd Fellows' lodges, because of the name...

If you click on the labels/tags Odd Fellows below this post you will find other lodges that we have come across.

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) is one of the oldest and largest fraternal service organizations in the world.

Founded in North America in 1819 (with roots extending back to 18th-century England), the group is built on the principles of Friendship, Love, and Truth, symbolized globally by their well-known logo of three interlocking chain links.

There are two primary historical theories behind the unique name:

• The "Odd" Trades: In 17th- and 18th-century England, workers in major trades (like masons, tailors, or carpenters) formed large, powerful guilds to protect themselves. People who worked in smaller, unusual, or miscellaneous trades didn't have a guild. It is believed they banded together to form a guild of "Odd Fellows."

• An "Odd" Concept: At the time, the idea of citizens pooling their own money together to help fellow citizens in times of sickness, job loss, or death—without any political or royal prompting—was considered highly unusual or "odd."

The Odd Fellows operate under a command to "visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead, and educate the orphan."

Historically, before modern government social safety nets or corporate insurance existed, fraternal orders like the Odd Fellows functioned as a lifeline. Members paid dues into a lodge fund, and if a member fell ill or passed away, the lodge provided financial support to the family, covered funeral costs, and took care of widows and orphans.

Today, the Odd Fellows operate primarily as a non-political, non-sectarian civic and charitable organization.

• The Rebekahs: In 1851, the IOOF became the first fraternal organization to accept both men and women by establishing the Rebekahs, the female branch of the order. Today, most lodges are fully co-ed.

• Community Focus: Modern lodges focus heavily on local volunteer work, donating to hospitals, funding scholarships, organizing food drives, and supporting disaster relief.

• The Lodge Culture: Like Freemasons, Odd Fellows hold meetings in "lodges," use traditional regalia, and practice degrees (ritual ceremonies based on moral lessons) to advance through leadership ranks.

This local subordinate lodge of the IOOF was chartered in June 1871. For nearly a century, members gathered in their grand lodge room on the second floor of the historic Currie block on Queen Street.

Constructed in 1884, this brick building was built on the exact site of founding father Peter Perry’s original 1840s trading store.

 In its heyday, it served as an elegant resting place for tourists and travelling salesmen arriving by train. Today, like many of Port Perry's beautifully preserved heritage buildings, the interior has been converted into commercial office and retail space rather than an active lodge.

Daniel David Palmer (D.D. Palmer), the celebrated founder of chiropractic care. This commemorative monument stands at his birthplace. Palmer was born in the Port Perry area in 1845 before later moving to the United States, where he established the world's first chiropractic school.

These are Muskoka chairs NOT Adirondacks!!

Muskoka and Adirondack chairs are nearly identical 11-piece wooden or composite outdoor chairs, with their main differences lying in regional origin, back design, and subtle sizing.

• Adirondack: Invented in 1903 by Thomas Lee in the Adirondack Mountains of Westport, New York. This name is most commonly used in the United States and by some Canadians.

• Muskoka: The Canadian variation named after Ontario's cottage country, where the design was adopted and adapted for local lakefronts.

We shared this massive plate of delicious haddock. A funny place, full of local "old" people with the stereotypical server (waitress) calling everyone "Hun".